The management of the three main waste streams will help Singapore achieve her Zero Waste vision.
Food Waste
How can food waste be reduced?
Donate to a Food Bank
Cook And Order Just Enough
Choose the right food portions and cook just enough food. Also order just enough food, thus avoiding food waste and saving money.
Cook Your Leftover Food
Keep and cook your leftover food instead of throwing them away, thus helping to reduce food wastage at home.
Join in SG Food Rescue
Being involved in an SG Food Rescue can help you understand the food waste situation and make you more aware of food consumption and food wastage. Often, food is disposed because they do not look ‘edible’. However, ‘unattractive’ food can sometimes still be edible! Join in a Veggie Rescue or Cooked Food Rescue if you want to find out more.
Find out more on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sgfoodrescue/
Electrical and electronic waste
Did you know that you’re harming the environment when you don’t dispose of your electronics properly? So if you can’t donate or repair your old gadgets, recycle them. By doing so, you’re sending your e-waste to proper facilities where recyclable materials (including precious metals such as gold, silver and palladium) can be safely extracted and then reused to make new products! Here are some common e-waste items you can recycle and more info on how to do so.
Packaging waste
Some products come with unnecessary plastic or paper packaging for aesthetic and advertising purposes, and these packaging usually end up as waste. You can choose products with less or no packaging, thus reducing the packaging wastage and cost.
What Can I Do?
Make a conscious effort to choose products with less packaging.
By buying and supporting products with less packaging, you are sending a signal to the companies on the increasing demand of products that have minimal packaging.
Bring your own utensils to avoid using plastic or Styrofoam utensils
Avoid single-use packaging. Bring your own reusable bag or re-useable containers
How can you play a part in reducing waste in school and at home?
About the Author: Daniel Wong is the bestselling author of “The Happy Student: 5 Steps to Academic Fulfillment and Success.” He blogs on topics related to education and career at www.Daniel-Wong.com.
How to Overcome Distractions When It’s Time To Study
You have a big exam coming up next week, so you know it’s time to study hard.
You sit down at your study table and start reviewing your notes.
Five minutes later, your phone goes off. It’s a text message from your friend, asking you which chapters are tested for your exam.
After exchanging six text messages, you look at the time. 15 minutes have gone by!
You put your phone aside and get back to reading your notes. 10 minutes later, you get the sudden, overwhelming urge to check your Facebook news feed.
You only intend to spend a few minutes on Facebook, but you end up browsing through three photo albums, commenting on four statuses, and watching funny videos about cats and babies.
You decide to update your own status: “Life dilemma: Study for exam or check Facebook. Facebook wins.” All of this takes you another 20 minutes.
I’m sure something like this has happened to you before. It happened to me when I was a student, and most of the students I work with tell me that it happens to them far too often.
But there’s hope. There are simple techniques you can use to win the war against distractions.
Here are six tips for you:
1. Put your phone on silent mode and place it at the other end of the room.
If you own a smartphone, you know how distracting it can be. Facebook, Twitter, email, text messaging and yes, the entire Internet, are at your fingertips.
Even a non-smartphone can be extremely distracting!
As such, I recommend that—at the start of your study session—you put your phone on silent mode and place it far away from you. Preferably, you should place it at the other end of the room.
This way, you won’t be interrupted by phone calls or text messages while you’re studying. You can always check your phone every 30 or 45 minutes when you take a break.
If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit that few of the text messages and phone calls you receive require an immediate response, so it’s reasonable to get back to the other person when you’re taking a break.
2. Turn off your Internet access.
You might intend to use your computer for work, but you can easily find yourself on Facebook or YouTube instead. (You know what I mean. 🙂)
When you’re using your computer, the World Wide Web is literally just a click away. Don’t trust yourself to resist that temptation. Turn off your Internet access before you begin your study session.
If you need to access certain online resources, then download all of the necessary information at the start of your session before you turn off your Internet access.
The Internet is tool that has the power to both entertain and educate. By turning off your Internet access when it’s time to focus, you’re harnessing the power of the Internet effectively.
3. Take a deep breath when you’re about to get distracted.
Distractions come in waves. The urge to watch TV, clear your room (I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels like clearing my room when it’s time to be productive, right?) and check your phone attacks you suddenly—and it can often be overwhelming.
But these intense urges only last for a short while. If you’re able to resist that initial wave, you’ll be able to carry on studying instead of succumbing to temptation.
Here’s how to fight off the urge when it hits you: Close your eyes. Breathe in for two seconds, then breathe out for two seconds. If the urge still persists, repeat until it goes away.
Using this simple technique, you’ll spend four to eight seconds breathing deeply, after which you’ll get back to work. If you don’t use this technique, you’ll probably end up getting distracted for 15 minutes, or even longer.
4. Ask people to give you privacy.
I’m sure that something like this has happened to you before while you were studying:
Your mom came by to ask you about your day
Your friend dropped by to chat
Your younger brother asked you for help with his homework
Your sister asked you for advice
The list goes on.
Don’t get me wrong; relationships are important. I firmly believe that, in many ways, the quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life.
But when you’re studying, interruptions can be especially disruptive.
Just before you begin your study session, I recommend that you go up to the people who are most likely to disturb you and say something like this: “I have an exam coming up next week, so I need to focus. Would you please give me some privacy for the next two hours and not interrupt, unless it’s something really urgent?”
When you make such an intentional effort to ask others to respect your privacy and your commitment to academic excellence, they’re likely to show you that respect.
5. Get eight hours of sleep every night.
As a student, it seems almost impossible to get enough sleep. There’s always so much homework to do, so many projects to work on, so many activities to participate in, so many friends to hang out with, and so many parties to go to.
Compared to all of these things, sleep seems so unimportant!
But sleep is vital if you want to perform well academically. It’s an established scientific fact that sleep affects your memory, concentration and brain function. If you’re not sleeping enough, you’re not setting yourself up for success in your student life.
When you’re sleep-deprived, you’ll also be easily distracted.
Here are some ways to help you get to bed earlier:
Have a nightly bedtime routine
Wind down at the end of the day by reading a book
Don’t drink caffeine after 3pm
Go to bed at the same time every day
Set a nightly alarm to tell you it’s time to go to bed (this has been exceptionally helpful for me!)
6. Use a tool like Asana.com to help you prioritize your tasks.
(Asana.com didn’t pay me to say this, I promise.)
Asana.com is a web-based tool that allows you to conveniently manage projects and prioritize tasks.
I started using Asana.com half a year ago, and I’ve found it to be beneficial in keeping my life organized.
Students often get distracted when they think about all the other tasks they need to accomplish. They start to wonder if they should be working on another assignment or studying for another test instead. This hinders them from focusing on the task at hand.
By using a tool like Asana.com, you’ll be able to stay on top of all of your assignments, projects and other commitments. With a systematic approach toward task management, you’ll make the most of every study session.
In closing…
In our increasingly connected world of smartphones, tablets, laptops and high-speed Internet, distractions are everywhere.
You’ll need to make a deliberate and committed effort to stay on task. I hope these six tips will help you in your quest to become a happy and successful student!
Do you want to control your own mind or let technology take over your life?
Looking good can undoubtedly make you feel good about yourself. However, good-looking people also possess their own insecurities. Furthermore, we know that appearances can change as you grow. Therefore, why should your self-esteem be solely determined by how you look?
What we all need is confidence. It’s a powerful word and an even more powerful feeling. Can you remember a time in your life when you felt confident? A time when you felt unstoppable… on top of the world? Now imagine you could feel that way more often. What impact would that have on your life?
Let’s take a look at this infographic which illustrates the differences between a confident person and an insecure person:
The good news is, there are steps to building confidence that you can take wherever – and whenever you feel you’re lacking it. Often, it’s already within you and you just need a few strategies to uncover it.
How to Be More Confident (A Step-By-Step Guide)
So, how can you be more confident? P.S.: No plastic surgery required.
1. Be specific
First things first, let’s get specific.
In order to tame the demon, you’ve got to name the demon. Ask yourself these questions.
Where do you lack confidence?
When do you feel self-doubt and your negative emotions creeping in?
Where do you feel your skills or abilities are limiting you?
Where would you like to have more confidence?
Take a moment now, identify and put into a complete statement: Where do you specifically want to have more confidence?
2. Uncover what gives you confidence
This is personal, so it will vary from person to person. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to confidence and what works for one, won’t always work for another.
Here’s how you can figure out.
Recall the couple of times in your life when you felt most confident.
Think about what was it about those times that made you feel so empowered. Was it the environment you were in? Something you were doing? A feeling you had? The clearer you get about this, the easier it will be to tap into the confidence within you.
3. Be true to ‘you’
One of the surest ways to lose confidence is to try to be someone else. So, be true to yourself. It is only in your own skin that you can be confident.
When you’re trying to be someone you’re not, every part of you resists it. You will feel like a fraud and a hypocrite. You are not everyone else. You are you. And the more you can understand who you are and what you value, the stronger you will be. You are capable of changing your life! When you stray away from who you are, you lose confidence because it’s ‘just not you’.
Think about what makes you, uniquely you. Write it down. Think about what you value and what’s important to you. Write that down, too.
4. Remember you are 100% smart
When one of my daughters was in 4th grade, her teacher gave an assignment called 100% smart. In this activity, the kids had to make a pie chart and identify what percentage smart they were in each of the following areas; people, self, body, math, word, music, art. Whatever it is, they all add up to 100%.
This is true for everyone. So, maybe you’re not the best public speaker, but are you a good listener, a responsible sibling or a caring senior who can encourage your peers?
Too many people spend way too much time trying to improve, change, be more of this or less of that. Instead, what if you spent more time acknowledging your talents, skills and successes?
Try this for one week: at the end of each day, write down at least 3 things that you did well, felt good about, or were proud of yourself for. Know your strengths, know your talents and know you’re 100% smart.
5. Stop comparing yourself
Nothing zaps your confidence more than comparing yourself to others. Especially now, with social media and the wonderful opportunity to judge yourself against so many others! Lack of confidence comes from a gap in where you see yourself and where you think you should be.
Stop comparing yourself to others. Just stop. If you still feel a compelling need to compare – compare yourself to yourself. Measure how far you’ve come. See how much improvement you’ve made. Acknowledge your wins and successes.
6. Realize you are enough
This may sound a little bit corny, but try it. This positive affirmation will resonate at a deep level and have a powerful effect on your subconscious.
Every day for the next 21 days, repeat this mantra “I am enough.” Don’t just say it, but feel it, deeply, at the core of who you are.
Want to get more specific? Replace ‘enough’ with whatever word you’d like to ‘be’. What would give you the most confidence?
I am brave. I am strong. I am smart. I am beautiful. I am confident. I got this.
7. Acquire new skills
Since confidence is often directly linked to abilities, one of the best ways to build your confidence is to get new skills or experience and step out of your comfort zone.
Growing your skills will in turn grow your confidence. And please, as you work on building your skills and expertise, don’t mistake a lack of perfection for a lack of ability. No one is perfect. But if you’ve got a perfectionist bone in your body (like I do), it can make you think that just because you’re not the best, that you’re not good at all.
Make sure to check yourself – am I really not good at this, or am I not good as I want to be just yet?
How?
Ask yourself: Is there a specific area where you are lacking confidence? How can you expand your expertise in this area?
8. Change your state
Changing your physical and mental ‘state’ is one of the quickest ways to access a feeling of confidence. To do this, you need to know what the state of ‘confidence’ looks, feels and sounds like for you.
How?
Here are a few strategies you can use to access that:
• Remember – Think of a specific time, associated with feeling confident. Sink into that feeling deeply and moment by moment relive every detail.
• Imagine – Imagine how you would feel if you were confident. How would you act? Feel? Be?
• Modelling – Think about someone you know who exudes confidence. Imagine what that person would do.
9. Find yourself a cheerleader
Yes, while I understand confidence is a state from within, you can also boost your confidence by the people you choose to spend your time with.
How?
Make a concerted effort to surround yourself with others who provide encouragement, positivity, and inspiration. Spend more time with people who ‘get you’ and see all of your greatness, and less time with those that zap your confidence or cause you to feel self-doubt.
10. Just do it
When Nike came up with this slogan in the late 80’s, they knew just how to get the general population off their butts and moving. Turns out, this is a great strategy for being more confident too.
When you stand at the edge of the water; waiting, wondering, worrying if you can do something, you lose confidence. Your fears creep in and you begin to doubt yourself. But when you take a leap of faith, jump in and get started, your confidence immediately builds.
Action builds confidence and each step you take builds it further.
Think of one step you could take right now that would get you moving in the right direction. Then Just Do It and see what happens. An incredible thing about human brain is that once it realizes something is working, it will keep that momentum going!
Final Thoughts
Being more confident starts with one thing — YOU.
YOU making the decision to take action. And when all else fails, YOU can make a choice.
YOU can choose to be confident. YOU can choose confidence over fear and self-doubt.
Your mind believes what you tell it. If you continue to tell yourself the story that you are not confident, you will believe it and your self-doubt will continue. But if you tell yourself you can do it, that you got this, your mind will believe that too.
Remember, fostering a strong sense of confidence is critical to experiencing overall levels of health, happiness and success.
And once you get started, you’ll be unstoppable. Be brave. Be confident. You got this.
Do you have a dream but are often told that it is an impossible one to achieve?
Being a K-pop star seems like an insurmountable task. However, there are still K-pop trainees who manage to achieve their goals. They persevere during gruelling trainings because they possess the correct mindset – the growth mindset.
Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?
The hare was so certain that he would win that he sat down and went to sleep during the race.
The tortoise just plodded on and kept going, always thinking that he had a chance of winning. When the hare woke up in horror that the tortoise was ahead of him, he started running as fast as he could, but he was just too late; the tortoise had won.
So, what made the outcome of the story unexpected? It’s got everything to do with mindsets.
The hare had a fixed mindset. He believed that his innate ability would always mean that he would win any race no matter what he did.
The tortoise had a growth mindset. He believed that he needed to work hard and keep going at it consistently if he wanted to win. He was also not afraid of failure or he would never have agreed to race the hare.
What is Fixed or Growth Mindset?
These two different beliefs lead to different behaviour, and also to different results. For example, students with a growth mindset were shown to increase their grades over time. Those who believed that their intelligence was ingrained did not; in fact, their grades got worse.
People with these two mindsets actually think differently and also react to information differently.
In particular, they respond differently to information about performance.
In people with a fixed mindset, the brain is most active when they are being given information about how well they have done, for example, test results or grades.
In people with a growth mindset, the brain is most active when they are being told what they could do to improve.
Dealing with Setbacks
These mindsets also cause people to deal with setbacks differently.
People with a fixed mindset are very discouraged by setbacks, because a setback dents their belief in their ability. They tend to become uninterested and give up.
People with a growth mindset view a setback as an opportunity to learn. They tend to try harder in an effort to overcome the problem.
“The moment that we believe that success is determined by an ingrained level of ability, we will be brittle in the face of adversity”
Mindsets in Life
Mindsets are not just important for learning new skills. They can affect the way that we think about everything.
For example, a growth mindset can help you recover from illness because you believe that you can do something about the illness. They can help you achieve in sport, at work and can also help you grow and develop in relationships.
Which mindset do you have today? It is never too late to develop the growth mindset in you. Here is what you can do…
Yes, hard work, effort, and persistence are all important, but not as important as having that underlying belief that you are in control of your own destiny. Having a growth mindset (the belief that you are in control of your own ability, and can learn and improve) is the key to success. Cultivating a growth mindset could be the single most important thing you ever do to help you achieve success.
What are some of the things you can say to yourself that will help you cultivate a growth mindset?
If you are a student leader, what can you say to your peers to help them believe that skills, intellect and talents can be developed?
Why do people fall for such scams? How do we avoid being victims of scams?
Manipulative and conniving scammers take advantage of our emotions such as greed, fear and sympathy. A moment of weakness or impulsiveness on our part could lead to our downfall. When one is in his vulnerable and lonely state, he could fall into a trap of deceit unwittingly.
As such, it is important to heighten our awareness of the different types of scams happening in society, and be armed against the traps that might manifest in your conversations with cyber contacts. Share the stories with your loved ones to ensure that they are wary of such scams! Visit https://www.scamalert.sg/news to read the scam stories.
How can we be more cyber savvy?
1. Create a safer online space by reviewing your cyber contacts
Cyber contacts are people whom we interact with online. It is difficult to know the real identity of our cyber contacts as they can pretend to be someone they are not. Some cyber contacts could be strangers and there could be potential dangers if they are not truthful. Thus, it is important to distinguish between friends in the real world and friends whom we have only met in cyberspace.
To navigate in the cyberspace safely, apply the Cyber Wellness principles so that you can make the online (and offline) experience a more pleasant one for everyone.
About the Author: Daniel Wong is the bestselling author of “The Happy Student: 5 Steps to Academic Fulfillment and Success.” He blogs on topics related to education and career at 
Apply the Cyber Wellness principles
